Besides winning games, CNU's Woollum has a great track record for hiring coaches

When Christopher Newport athletic director Bev Vaughan decided to retire in the summer of 1987, he summoned two of the Captains' best coaches to his office.

C.J. Woollum guided the men's basketball and golf teams, Vince Brown the track squads, and Vaughan wanted one of them to be his interim successor.

"I don't want it," Brown blurted out before Woollum could even flinch.

Thus began one of the most remarkable administrative careers in Virginia college sports history.

You've heard plenty about Woollum since he announced his basketball coaching retirement last month, and rightfully so. His teams won 502 games and earned 17 NCAA tournament bids in 26 seasons.

But what about the gig Woollum retains?

There are myriad ways to judge an athletic director, but none better than the head coaches he hires. And in that regard, CNU's accidental AD, on the job 23 years, has few peers.

"We've been really blessed," Woollum said, "not only in the caliber of the coaches, but in the fact that they have stayed with us."

They stay because CNU has inherent advantages, especially of late — its resources, facilities and presidential support dwarf most NCAA Division III schools. They stay because their boss supports but rarely meddles, suggests but rarely orders.

"He's always on the sideline for home games," field hockey coach Carrie Moura said. "Big wins, tough losses on the road, you get a phone call from him."

But there's no denying Woollum's eye for coaching talent. For example, Moura's program has earned four consecutive NCAA tournament bids and reached the national quarterfinals in 2006.

"I marvel at his ability to know who will fit," said women's basketball coach Carolyn Hunter, who doubles as the Captains' senior women's administrator. "He's got such a knack. I believe it's a gift. I believe he has a vision for this department."

After reluctantly accepting the interim athletic director post in June of '87, Woollum had until the end of August to formally apply for the full-time job. He submitted his paperwork Aug. 31.

Woollum, who relinquished his golf duties in 1998, has since hired coaches young and old, from near and afar, career assistants and seasoned head coaches. Most have won wildly.

"He was direct when he needed to be. He was serious when he needed to be. He lightened up when he needed to," football coach Matt Kelchner said of Woollum's vetting. "There aren't any big surprises with C.J. He's by the book, in a gentle, caring way."

The only coach the Captains have had since embarking on football for the 2001 season, Kelchner ranks among Woollum's shrewdest hires. He has led CNU to six NCAA playoffs in nine seasons, outrageous success for a start-up.

A 1992 CNU grad, Harvell coached Woodside High's varsity for four seasons before taking over the Captains in 2001; Parr not only graduated from CNU but also worked as an assistant coach there for four seasons prior to his 2004 promotion.

Hunter had served one season as Hampton University's interim head coach and one as Bethel Christian's coach before Woollum appointed her in 1998; Shaw arrived in 1996 after working at Lafayette High and William and Mary.

Harvell has guided the Captains to nine winning seasons in 10 years and two College World Series appearances — CNU was national runner-up in 2003; Parr's program is on the brink of its fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

Hunter has coached the Captains to six NCAA tournaments in 12 years, and this past season her team went 30-1, losing in the NCAA's Sweet 16; under Shaw, the soccer team has reached the NCAA's Elite Eight the past two years, capping a run of 14 consecutive winning seasons.

But Woollum never has been shy about cutting against the grain.

Cathy Parson had no local connections and was a Providence College assistant when Woollum named her head women's basketball coach in 1988. In her 10 seasons the Captains were 94-18 in conference play, and she parlayed that success into a WNBA assistant job.

Lindsay Birch was a freshly minted CNU graduate when she became the Captains' volleyball coach. A 22-year-old college head coach? Had Woollum hired merely for convenience?

CNU has earned six NCAA tournament bids in Birch's eight seasons and advanced to the national quarterfinals last season.

"I'm looking for fit a great deal," Woollum said. "They have to fit with our group (of coaches)."

After more than two decades in the corner office, you'd think Woollum would be a one-man head-hunting firm for head coaches. Nothing, he said, could be further from the truth.

These days he appoints, but does not serve on, a search committee. He awaits the group's handful of preferences before embarking upon meticulous research that precedes campus interviews.

"He's so thorough and detailed," said Hunter, who serves on most search committees. "He moves beyond the résumé. He knows so many people, so he's going to find someone who knows you and can give him the scoop."

Candidates meet with a wide range of the campus community. Woollum then forwards his recommendation to university president Paul Trible.

"Everybody has to have a good feel about (a prospect)," Woollum said. "You can get turned off in an interview and you can be deceived in an interview. In the end, you take a leap of faith because you don't know them well."

It was her interviews with Woollum and Trible that convinced Hunter CNU was right for her.

"Seeing the passion they have for what can be done here," she said. "There was a commitment, and that's what a coach is looking for."

That commitment shows in venues such as the Freeman Center and Pomoco Stadium. That commitment shows in the won-lost records — among more than 300 Division III schools, CNU ranks 24th nationally in the Directors' Cup all-sports standings and has finished among the top 50 seven times in the last decade.

Mighty impressive for someone who didn't have a lick of administrative experience when he took over and now confronts the challenge of hiring his own replacement as basketball coach.

"The only reason I got (the AD position) was that people on campus supported me so strongly," Woollum said. "I got my feet wet on the job. I got submerged, and I don't even swim well."

David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/teeltime.